How much paint? 1957 SDV

[dn010]

I know this is a tough question but I am trying to estimate and plan for my upcoming paint job on my 57 SDV. So, I am looking for guidance or thoughts from anyone who has already sprayed their 57 or similar size year Cadillac, sedan or coupe since they're also similar size. I am hesitant to base my estimate off the primer I am using since I'm going through a lot of it with the process I am using (strip to metal, self-etching primer, then urethane primer).

I only need to paint the body exterior. I don't need to paint door jams, under the hood or trunk and I do not need to paint the roof, so all those areas can be deduced.
I was planning on getting what will total, once mixed with activator, one gallon of single-stage urethane.

The paint is expensive so I'd hate to buy too much and waste it but at the same time, I do not have any problem buying more than enough in order to avoid running out and then I'd just put additional coats on to use it up. Do you guys who have done this already, think that one gallon will be enough for multiple coats of the exterior?

Some added info that you can skip-
I do have experienced in auto painting. I've painted several cars before, the largest of them being a 61 Chrysler (getting the roof done was the worst!) and 66 Thunderbird (Landau so I was able to avoid the roof!). Back then, I never used urethane, probably acrylic with a clear for cost. It was a long time ago but I think I went through gallons of paint so this is why I can't really compare that experience to urethane. I sprayed urethane on the roof of my Cadillac already a year ago but it has just taken me forever to find time to strip the body paint off, do body work, etc. I used one quart on the roof along with all of the metal interior parts including the metal lower dashboard that was removed and sprayed so it does seem urethane goes pretty far.
Safety is no issue for me shooting urethane as I have my own disposable paint suits, goggles, Allegro constant airflow mask from a filtered ambient air pump and all of that fun stuff.

[Cadillac Jack 82]

If a shop does the work its like this:

1. Okay paint- 4000-7000
2. Good paint- 12000-20000
3. Show paint- 30k+

If you do the body work and paint yourself the only thing its going to cost you is time and supplies.

[dn010]

Thank you for posting that. I should clarify that I am painting the car myself and my question is, what is the quantity of paint I should have available to me during the process.

However, those prices certainly do look good in order to spare me the agony of prepping and painting the car myself. But then, I might not have the satisfaction I may have when I am finally all done with this ongoing process.

[fishnjim]

Depends on the gun, painter, and how many coats.   Paint manufacturer should have something on the can about coverage.   
I'd say you should get two coats out of that gallon based on painting a full size pickup w/o the bed in matching color.   I had a little left over ~pt+.   Make sure you have the right primer color or you'll use more paint/won't look right.
You can always buy 1 extra qt, mix it all together so it matches, and have some left for touch-up, but urethane won't keep once activated, so only mix as you go.   That way you're covered and not in for a second gallon.   
You could go acrylic enamel and save on the paint cost.   
If you monitored how far one coat of urethane primer went it should be OK gauge for finish coat, but if you spotted or piecemealed, it won't help.   
I'd do a test panel, and see if two coats covers well.   If not covers, then needs +2 qts.(1.5 gl) but maybe cheaper for a second gal.

[signart]

I have some experience painting my own vehicles on occasion. The last time I sprayed polyurethane was on a '90 model long wheel base, single cab pick up with bed removed. So I bought one gallon of black polyurethane
and 1 qt activator off the web. I sprayed the entire cab the entire bedsides, headgate, and tailgate only, not the inside of the bed. Even with some added thinner, I really wasn't satisfied with the coverage and rubbed very thin after some buffing. Wasn't worth it doing it on the cheap. Get enough to give it good coverage so it can be water sanded and buffed, touched up or respray a panel if needed.
This was a work truck, but could have been better with more coverage. You'll regret not having enough worse than regret having too much.

[MaR]

For perspective, the last full car I painted was my old 1990 Taurus SHO. It took 1.5 gallons of base coat to do a full paint job. The base was reduced 4:1 so I used almost 2 gallons of material. That car had many separate piece of body cladding that were painted separately and I also did the door jams. With those added surfaces, I would say that it would have been roughly the same painted body area as your job.

[G Pennington]

Used about 1 1/2 gallons of base coat (Omni MBC) when I painted my '53 convertible.  3 coats, 4 in places.  Used almost 2 gallons of clear (SPI Universal Clearcoat).  4 coats.  Did not include hidden surfaces as these were painted previously.

[dn010]

Thank you all for posting, I appreciate your comments and experiences. I will order two gallons of urethane to be safe and see how it goes. I am a week or two away from painting but will let you know how it goes!

[signart]

I would rather paint myself and leave the buffing to a pro. One can easily destroy a paint job by water sanding & buffing if you are not experienced. A good buffer can make you look like an expert painter, assuming the prep is up to snuff.

[harvey b]

What color is it,urethanes do not spray well if a metallic,hard to get the flake spread out,it will look cloudy in spots.a proper colored sealer or ground coat is a big thing,you dont want to put on too much paint.Single stage paint is good for a solid color,i would never do it in a metallic color,you can use base coat for that. Harveyb

[dn010]

It will be black/silver metallic. I've already used single stage metallic on the roof and all metal interior parts, and I did not have any of the issues that you describe. I do constantly shake the paint in the gun to prevent the flakes from dropping and I did a drop coat on the roof, looks great even after a year of being covered& uncovered with a tarp, covered in dust/dirt, etc. and I have never wet sanded, buffed or waxed it. Should I have any issues on the body, I will sand the paint and spray it black only. The sides and fin/headlight contours will be a challenge with the flakes but I am pretty confident it will get it to turn out fine. Should I fail, then so be it - at least I will have gained even more experience then I already have and painting is one of my favorite things to do when working on my cars.

[rsms]

If it was me and I was doing any metallic color I would spray it in base coat/ clear coat.  It will be much easier to get the metallics to lay out nicely and the clear will let you have a nice flow coat that is easily wet sanded and buffed if need be. Non metallic colors are a toss up as a single stage urethane does look very nice but if it was a two tone with a metallic color I will some times spray both color base coats and then clear the entire vehicle so there are no elevated lines between the colors.  Both silver and black usually cover good and should not require multiple coats to provide a uniform color.  I hate to recommend amounts of paint especially with out seeing what is to be sprayed but it's always better to have a little extra than to run out and need to have more.  Another thing to consider is using a HVLP paint gun, they will use less paint than a older style siphon gun due to the lower air pressure needed to properly atomize the paint, also much less over spray which is nice especially if your not using a booth.